Once again, no Canadian restos make the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants

The 50 best chefs in the world. No, really (Image: The S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2011)

With dramatic action-movie music and a little smug British humour, the much-anticipated S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants were announced at an awards ceremony at the Guildhall in London, U.K. last night. Just like last year, no Canadian restaurants made the Top 50, but unlike last year, Canada was also a no-show in the second-tier 51-100 list (Cambridge’s Langdon Hall and Calgary’s Rouge made it onto 2010’s list at 77 and 60, respectively, but didn’t place this year.)

Rene Redzepi’s Noma from Copenhagen took first place again this time around. Redzepi and the team accepted the prize with plenty of man-love (a theme in this year’s ceremony) and Viking hats, followed by an emotional speech from the Danish chef.

With more room at the top after the withdrawal of Ferran Adria’s El Bulli from the list (it’s closing in 2012), Spanish restaurants El Celler de Can Roca and Mugaritz secured the second and third spot. Other awards included: Best Female Chef to Anne Sophie Pic of France’s Maison Pic; the One To Watch award to Stockholm’s Frantzén/Lindeberg; and the Lifetime Achievement award to Juan Mari Arzak, the pioneer of new Basque cuisine who was Spain’s first chef to win three Michelin stars. The competition is organized by Restaurant magazine, and voted on by 800 restaurant industry insiders.

Despite Canada’s poor showing, Toronto diners can still get excited that American David Chang, who will be opening a pair of restaurants in Toronto next year, snagged the 40th spot for his Momofuku Ssäm Bar and 65th for his tiny Momofuku Ko.